Reel-type clothes drier



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1960 INVENTOR.

ERV IN LESHNER A TTOR/VEYS.

July 9, 1963 E. LESHNER REEL-TYPE CLOTHES DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 20, 1960 3 0 6 T. w a m 6% w m I 0m w 2% W n l A 4 4 (2i ERV m LESHNER' BY W M W ATTORNEYS.

July 9, 1963 E. LESHNER REEL-TYPE CLOTHES-DRIER '4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed001;. 20. 1960 mm mm INVENTOR. ERV IN LESHNER ATTORNEYS.

July 9, 1963 E. LESHNER 3,096,884

' REEL-TYPE CLOTHES DRIER Filed 001:. 20, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. ERVI N LESHNER ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent vania Filed Oct. 20, 1960, Ser. No. 63,879 6Claims. (Cl. 211119.15)

This invention relates to a clothes drier and has for its primaryobjective the provision of a novel, inventive and useful device of thisgeneral class.

The drying of clothes is most commonly accomplished by hanging orsuspending the wet clothes from a clothesline. Towards end it is thepractice to secure each end of a clothesline to spaced points in orderto hold the same taut. Such tautness is generally achieved andmaintained by tying the clothesline ends in a tight knot to the spacedpoints. For this reason it is quite inconvenient for a housewife tountie these knots in order to gather the clothesline when no longerneeded. Hence, there is the tendency to permit the clothesline to remainsuspended and thereby exposed to extreme weather conditions as well asdetracting from the neatness and appearance of the area. Moreover, asuspended clothesli-ne may constitute a harmful obstacle to persons inthe area.

Thus, there has developed the need for a clothesline which can be heldtaut and which can be quickly removed therefrom for storage. The use ofwinding reels or storage drums is, of course, known. However, thesedevices have not proved to be satisfactory as the clothesline is bulkyand heavy and so is rewound only with great difficulty. Spring loadeddevices are also unsatisfactory since large springs are required in thewinding of the heavy clothesline.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a clothesdrier wherein the clothesline may be easily drawn taut.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a clothes drierassembly wherein the clothesline may be easily held in storage untilneeded.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a clothesdriver wherein the clothesline may be easily removed from the tautposition and stored until needed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a clothesdrier wherein the :clothesline may be stored and concealed from sightthereby enhancing the appearance of the drying area and removing aharmful obstacle to persons in the area.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a clothesdrier of the reel-type which easily handles the bulky and heavyclothesline and does not require the use of springs or other tensiondevices.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a reel-typeclothes drier which is simple in construction and use and which can beinexpensively manufactured.

The foregoing and other objectives of the present invention are attainedby providing a clothes drier comprising generally a central shaft havingsecured thereto at least one pair of axially aligned rope storage drums.One drum of the drum pair is of a relatively large diameter and theother drum is of a relatively small diameter. clothesline is providedhaving two ends, the clothesline adjacent one rope end being wound inone sense on the 3,096,884 Patented July 9, 1963 large diameter drum andthe clothesline adjacent the other rope end being wound in a dilferentsense on the small diameter drum. The rope not wound on either drumconstitutes the available clothesline which may be lengthened by pullingon the rope leading to the large diameter drum. This pull causes thesmall diameter drum as well as the large diameter drum to rotate in agiven direction whereby clothesline is unwound from the large diameterdrum and wound on the small diameter drum. Because the large diameterdrum provides more rope upon unwinding than than can be rewound on thesmall diameter drum an excess of clothes line is provided to lengthenthe available rope for drying purposes. The unwinding process isreversed by simply pulling on the rope leading to the small diameterdrum.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reel-type clothes drier embodying thepresent invention attached to a wall and showing a guide bar withpulleys for the clothesline rope;

BIG. 2. is a plan view of the drier of FIG. 1 partially broken away toshow the interior thereof;

REG. 3 is a front elevational view of the drier of FIG. 1 partiallybroken away to show the interior thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 with thetooth of a pawl engaged to prevent forward rotation;

LFIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIG. 4 with thetooth of a pawl in abutment with the tooth of a ratchet wheel to preventfurther rotation thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 4 andshowing in phantom the central shaft disengaged from a pair of storagedrums but still keyed to another pair of storage drums;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the lines 88 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view with certain parts omitted for simplicity toshow the technique of unwinding additional rope for the purpose oflengthening the clothes line available for drying purposes;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a reel-type clothes drier constitutinga second embodiment of the present in vention disposed to the device ofFIG. 1;

'FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the lines 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 1-2-1-2 of FIG. 11with certain portions broken away for clarity;

FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 12 but shows the locking pawl moved intooperative position and the restraining arm removed therefrom; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of arestraining spring.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingwherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a reel-typeclothes drier embodying the present invention is generally shown at 10in FIG. 1 which includes a housing 12, a central shaft 14 (FIG. 6), drumpairs 16, 18 and 20, 22 associated for rotation with central shaft 14,lengths of rope 24, 25, 26 and 27 respectively associated with drumpairs 16, 18 and 20, 22 and guide bar 28 which aids in the winding andunwinding of rope from the drum pairs.

Housing 12 includes rear wall 39 (FIG. 4) which includes upper and lowerskirts 32, 34 to space the housing from wall 37 to which it is securedand suspended from via bolts 36 fastened to Wall 37 and projectingthrough slots 40 in rear wall 30. Housing 12 also includes (FIG. 4) anintegral forward sector 42 including top and bottom walls 44 and 46having respectively flanges 48 and 49 which abut against rear wall 30.Front wall 52 of forward sector 42 includes upper inclined wall '54,intermediate wall 56 and lower inclined wall 58. Upper inclined wall 54has spaced slots 60 formed therein to permit the ingress and egress ofropes 24, 25, 26 and 27 as will be explained hereinafter. Housing 12additionally includes end caps 59 and 62 (FIG. 6) which include flanges61 and 63 which are respectively welded along one edge thereof to rearwall 30. An intermediate spacer member 64 (FIG. 6) is also welded at oneedge thereof to rear wall 30 and includes integral upper spacing flange66 and integral lower spacing channel member 68. An additional lowerspacing channel member 70 is also provided and is fixedly secured tospacer member 64 via rivets 72.

It is thus seen that end caps 59 and 62 and spacer member 64 are weldedto rear wall 30 to form an integral bracket unit. Shaft 14 and its pairsof drums are rotatively suspended from the integral bracket unit in amanner as will be hereinafter described. Moreover, integral forwardsector 42 with top and bottom walls 44 and 46 and front wall 52 may befri'ctionally fitted upon the aforesaid bracket unit and so can beeasily removed for maintenance, etc. or in general to provide access tothe interior of the present invention.

Rotatively and slidably suspended through opening 74 in end cap 62,opening 76 in spacer member 64 and opening 78 in end cap 59 (and alsoappropriate Openings in drum side walls 94, 100, 11 2 and 116) iscentral shaft 14. Suitable bearings may be provided if desired. Shaft 14includes a stop member 79 at one end thereof to limit the slidingmovement of shaft 14 to the right as viewed in FIG. 6 for reasons whichwill be explained hereinafter. Shaft 14 further includes an integralhandle 80 at its other end which includes a U-shaped portion 82 formedby bending this end of the shaft 14 at right angles to its primaryportion and then rebending said axis end to form a portion 84 parallelto the initially bent portion A resilient plug 86 may be secured to thefree end of portion 84 to aid in grasping. It should be noted that U-shaped portions 82 of handle 80 functions also as a stop member to limitthe sliding movement of shaft 14 to the left as viewed in FIG. 6.Resilient washers 88 and 90 may be respectively secured to end caps 59and 62 to cushion the impact of either stop member 79 or handle 88thereagainst.

Drums 16 and 18 are integrally welded to or formed from a tubular shaft92 which is telescoped over a portion of central shaft 14. Drum 16comprises circular side walls 94 and 96 and an interior cylindricalsurface 98 upon which rope 24 may be wound. Drum 16 is fabricat'ed bywelding side walls 94 and 96 to tubular shaft 92 and thereafter weldingsurface 98 to side walls 94 and 96. Drum 18 is constructed along thelines of drum 16 and includes circular side walls 100 and 102 andcylindrical surface 104 upon which rope 25 may be wound. Surface 104 ismerely the outer surface of shaft 92 enclosed between side walls 100 and102. It should be here noted that the rope storage diameter of drum .16is considerably larger than the rope storage diameter of drum 18 byvirtue of interior cylindrical surface 98 which provides the largerdiameter of drum 16.

Because tubular shaft 92 is telescoped over a portion of 4 central shaft14 and because shaft 92 is fixedly keyed to shaft .14 via key 186,rotation of either drum 16 or '18 or both will in turn cause rotation inthe same sense of shaft 14. Key 186 is welded to shaft 14 and is at alltimes slidingly secured in a complementary opening 107 in side wall 180.

Drums 20 and 22 are formed in a manner similar to drums 16 and 18 andinclude a tubular shaft 108 which is telescoped over a portion ofcentral shaft '14. Drum 26 comprises circular walls 110 and 112 and aninterior cylindrical surface 114 upon which rope 26 may be wound. Drum26 is fabricated by welding side walls 110 and 112 to tubular shaft.108. The outer surface of shaft 168 enclosed between side walls 110 and11-2 constitutes interior cylindrical surface 114 of drum 20. Drum 22 isconstructed along the lines of drum 20 and includes circular side walls116 and 118 and cylindrical surface 120 upon which rope 27 may be wound.Drum 22 is fabricated by welding side walls 116 and 1118 to tubularshaft 108 and thereafter welding surface 120 to side walls 116 and 118.It should be here noted that the rope storage diameter of drum 22 isconsiderably larger than the rope storage diameter of drum Zii by virtueof interior cylindrical surface 121 which provides the larger diameterof drum 22. V

Tubular shaft 168 is telescoped over a portion of central shaft 14 andmay be releasably keyed to shaft 14 by engagement of finger 122 withside wall 112 of drum 20 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Finger 122 is weldedto to shaft 14 at the arcuate end 124 thereof (FIG. 7) and includes atits other end a tip 126 which lies in a plane perpendicular to theremainder of finger 122. Tip 126 may be inserted through any desiredcomplementary opening 128 in side wall 112 of drum 26. Tip 126 isdisengaged from side wall 112 by merely sliding central shaft 14 to theright as viewed in FIG. 6 by pulling handle 80 to the right. Tip 126 isso disengaged because it is integral with finger 122 which is welded toshaft 14 and so slidable therewith. The disengaged position of tip 126as well as shaft 14 is shown in phantom in FIG. 6.

When tip 126 is engaged with side wall 112 of drum 20, all four drums16, 18, 20 and 22 are rotatable together as a unit. Hence, a pull on anyone of ropes 24, 25, 26 and 27 will cause all four drums to rotate as aunit. When tip 126 is disengaged drum pair-s 16, 18 and 20, 22 willoperate individually. In other words a pull on nope 24 will cause therotation only of drums 16 and 18. Shaft 14 will also be rotated since itis still keyed to shaft 92. However shaft 168 will not be rotated sinceshaft 14 through finger 122 with tip 126 is not engaged with side Wall112 of drum 20. Similarly a pull on rope 27 will cause the rotation onlyof drums 20 and 22. The utility of being able to rotate all four drumsas a unit or in individual pairs will be discussed hereinafter.

Drum pair 16, 18 is adapted to receive a length of rope having two ends130 and 132. End 130' is secured to side wall 96 of drum 16 via anappropriate opening. Rope leading from end 130* is then wound forseveral turns on interior cylindrical surface 98 of drum 16 in aclockwise sense and then led from drum 16 (FIG. 1) to become rope length24 which is led around the recessed circumference 134 of a pulley wheel136. Pulley wheel 136 is rotatively mounted on guide bar 28 via rivet138 which is also fastened at its upper end to a U-shaped bracket 140secured to guide bar 28 in a conventional manner. Rope length 24continues about pulley wheel 136 to become rope length 25 which is ledto drum 18 by first passing about a pulley 142 rotatively secured torear wall 30 of housing 12 via brackets 144 and 146. Rope 25 is thenwound on drum 18 in the sense opposite to the sense of winding of rope24 on drum 16 and end 132 thereof is secured to side wall 102 of drum 18via an appropriate opening.

It is thus seen that rope lengths 24 and 25 constitute two clotheslineswhich may be held taut and from which clothes may be suspended in orderto dry.

Drum pair 20, 22 is adapted (similarly to drum pair 16, 18) to receive alength of rope having two ends 148 and 150. End 148 is secured to sidewall 118 of drum 22 via an appropriate opening. Rope leading from end148 is then wound for several turns on interior cylindrical surface 120of drum 22 in a clockwise sense and then led from drum 22 (FIG. 1) tobecome rope length 27 which is led around the recessed circumference 152of a pulley wheel 154. Pulley wheel 154 is rotatively mounted on guide'bar 28 via rivet 156 which is also fastened at its upper end to a'U-shaped bracket 158 secured to guide bar 28 in a conventional manner.Rope length 27 continues about pulley wheel 154 to become rope length 26which is led to drum by first passing about a pulley 160 rotativelysecured to a rear wall 30 of housing 12 via brackets 162 and 164. Rope26 is then wound on drum 20 in the sense opposite to the sense ofwinding of rope 27 on drum 22 and end 150 thereof is secured to sidewall 110 of drum 20 via an appropriate opening.

It is thus seen that rope lengths 26 and 27 constitute two 'clotheslineswhich may be held taut and from which clothes may be suspended in orderto dry. Because rope lengths 24, 25, 26 and 27 are associated with guidebar 28, said four rope lengths may be simultaneously held taut bysecuring bar 28 to a wall or other surface.

It should be further noted that the circumference of side Wall 94 ofdrum 16 has ratchet teeth 166 formed therein (FIG. 4). A pawl 168including an arm 170 (FIG. 5) is pivoted to the outer surface of end cap62 at 172. Pawl 168 includes a tooth 173 which lies in a planeperpendicular to the remainder of pawl 168. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5pawl 168 may be pivoted so that tooth 173 enters slot 176 in end cap 62and abuts against a ratchet tooth 166 to restrain clockwise rotationthereof. This in turn restrains clockwise rotation of drums 16 and 18since side wall 94 of drum 16 is restrained from rotation and drums 16and 18 can rotate only as a unit. Moreover, if finger 122 is engaged inopening 128 in side wall 112 of drum 20 by appropriate sliding of shaft14, drums 20 and 22 will also be restrained from rotation since all fourdrums can now rotate only as a unit. Thus all four ropes may besimultaneously pulled taut by pulling on guide bar 28. Pawl 168 may bepivoted away from slot 176 to rest on top wall 44 as shown in FIG. 4 topermit free rotation of the drums.

In operation guide bar 28 is pulled outwardly in the direction of arrow178 of FIG. 1. The pull on guide bar 28 causes ropes 24 and 27 woundrespectively on large diameter drums 16 and 22 to travel outwardly inthe direction of arrows 188 and 182 (FIGS. 1 and 9) which in turn causesshafts 92 and 188 and shaft 14 (shaft 14 being keyed to shaft 108 viafinger 122 appropriately engaged in opening 128 in side wall 112 of drum20) to rotate in a clockwise direction as shown by arrows 184 in FIG. 9.It should be pointed out that although ropes 25 and 26 may also tend tobe pulled outwardly when bar 28 is pulled outwardly and therefore tendto rotate shafts 92 and 108 and shaft 14 in a counterclockwisedirection, this does not happen. This is so because the clockwise torqueproduced by ropes 24 and 27 in combination with the larger diameterdrums 16 and 22 is much greater and so overcomes the counterclockwisetorque produced by ropes 25 and 26 in combination with the smallerdiameter drums 18 and 20.

As the four drums are rotated in the clockwise direction of arrow 184when bar 28 is pulled in the direction of arrow 178 rope lengths 24 and27 are respectively unwound from drums 16 and 22. Because ropes 25 and26 are respectively wound on drums 18 and 20 in -a sense opposite to thesense of winding of ropes 24 and 27 on drums 16 and 22, the clockwiserotation of all four drums which causes the unwinding of rope lengths 24and 27 causes the winding of rope lengths 25 and 26 respectively ondrums 18 and 20 as indicated by arrows 186 and 188 in FIGS. 1 and 9.Because unwinding drums 16 and 22 are of a larger diameter than windingdrums 18 and 20, much more rope 24 and 27 will be unwound from largedrums 16 and 22 than can be wound on small drums 18 and 20. Henceadditional lengths of rope are added to ropes 24 and 27 and these ropesas well as ropes 25 and 26 accordingly grow in length to provideadditional clothesline. When ropes 24, 25, 26 and 27 have grown toalmost the satisfactory length, pawl 168 is pivoted so that tooth 173enters slot 176 to abut against a ratchet tooth 166. Forward motion ofall 'four drums is now restrained and additional pulling on guide bar 28serves to pull the four ropes taut. Bar 28 is then secured to a wall(not shown) opposite to wall 37 to complete the assembly of theclothesline.

When guide bar 28 is pulled outwardly to bring about unwinding of ropes26 and 27, it has been found that one of the ropes maybe unwound morerapidly than the other rope thereby giving rise to the situation whereone rope pair, for example, ropes 24 and 25 will be longer than theother rope pair 26 and 27. Such a situation is undesirable since furtherunwinding may be retarded as bar 28 is forced to rotate from its properposition in parallelism with shaft .14 to a position substantiallyperpendicular thereto because of the growing difference in lengthbetween the rope pairs.

This situation is simply remedied by grasping handle 88 to slide centralshaft 14 to the right as viewed in FIG. 6 thereby disengaging tip 126 offinger 122 from side wall 112 of drum 20. Drum pair 16, 18 may now berotated independently of drum pair 28, 22. Thus, the shorter pair ofropes, for example, ropes 26, 27 may be lengthened by merely pullingrope 27 outwardly. Such a pull will initiate the rotation only of drumpair 20, 22 while drum pair 16, 18 remain stationary until the fourropes are of equal length. Handle is then pushed to move shaft 14 to theleft to engage finger 122 with sidewall 112. All four drums are againkeyed together for simultaneous rotation and further unwinding mayproceed.

The extended clothesline is returned to drums 24 and 27 by reversing theunwinding process. This is done by removing bar 28 from the wall towhich it is secured and pulling on either of ropes 25 or 26. It shouldbe here noted that when rope-s 24- and 27 have been unwound as much aspossible from drums 16 and 22, certain portions of these ropes will havebeen rewound on drums 18 and 20 "as the unwinding process proceeded. Seearrows 186 and 188. Thus drums 18 and 28 will contain certain lengths ofrope 25 and 26.

Hence :a pull on either rope 25 or 26 will cause all four drums torotate in a direction opposite to arrow 184 and ropes 25 and 26 will beunwound from said drums 18 and 28 whereas ropes 24 and 27 will now bewound on drums 16 and 22. Because the latter drums are of a largerdiameter than drums 18 and 2t considerably more rope 24, 27 will berewound on these drums than is unwound from drums 18 and 20. Hence theunwinding process of FIG. 9 proceeds in reverse until substantially allrope is wound on drums '16 :and 22.

It is thus seen that the present invention constitutes a reel-typeclothes drier which is simple in construction and operation andeconomical in manufacture. It should be further noted that in thepresent device the ropes 24 and 25 constitute a single length of ropeand likewise the ropes 26 and 27 constitute a second single length ofrope. Each single length of rope in operation may be subdivided intothree portions. A first portion is wound in one sense on a largediameter drum and a second portion is wound in a different sense on asmall diameter drumcomplementary with the large diameter drum. There isalso an intermediate rope portion not wound on either drum but adaptedto provide clothesl-ine pairs 24, 25 or 26, 27.

A second embodiment 200 of the present invention is shown in FIGS. :10to 14 which is generally similar to the device of FIGS. 1 to 9. Indevice 206, however, a single s,ose,sss

central shaft 262 is employed which is disposed throughout the unit;Each drum pair is similar to drum pairs 16, 18 and 20, 22. Thus in drumpair 204, 2%, the former is of a relatively large diameter. These drumsare positioned on tubular central shaft 268 in which is telescoped shaft202. Similarly drum pair 210, 212 consists of drums of a differingdiameter and are positioned on a tubular shaft 214 in which istelescoped shaft 262. It follows that drum pair 204, 206 is mechanicallyindependent of drum pair 210, 212 land that rotation of one drum pair asby withdrawal of rope therefrom will not initiate rotation of the otherdrum pair. Rope lengths 216, 217 and 218, 219 are respectfully wound onthe drum pairs in a manner similar to rope lengths 24, 25 and 26, 27.However, as shown in FIG. 10, a guide bar may be dispensed with andpulleys 220 and 222 similar to that shown in US. Patent No. 2,147,183used instead for individual control.

Embodiment 2th) is used in a manner similar to the device of FIGS. 1 to=10. As previously stated, unit 2% differs from the previous device inthat the drum pairs are mechanically distinct. Another significantdifference lies in pawls 222 and 224 which are constructed generallyalong the lines of pawl 163 but are positioned inside the casing asshown in FIG. 11. Pal/V1222 is pivotally secured to end wall 226 of thecasing and includes a pawl finger 228 which is adapted to cooperate withteeth 23% of a ratchet member 232 which forms one side wall of drum 204.Thus when pawl finger 22% is engaged with a tooth 230 :as shown in FIG.13 clockwise rotation of drum 204 is restrained inasmuch as attemptedrotation in that direction merely increases the degree of contactbetween finger 228 and tooth 230. Counterclockwise rotation or rewindingof drum 204 is, however, permitted.

The foregoing mode of operation adds a great measure of convenience todevice 2% which is generally used as shown in FIG. 9. Pulley 220 ispulled away from the casing and in so doing as previously explained inconnection with the device of FIG. 9, rope 216 is withdrawn from drum2'04 and rope 217 is wound on drum 206 to provide a net increase inunwound rope length. When substantially, the desired unwound rope lengthhas been provided, the user need only tug :at rope 217 in the directionof arrow 234 as would be done to rewind rope 216 on drum 26 4. Tuggingon rope 217, causes drum 294 and its ratchet side 23% to rotate in acounterclockwise direction as discussed in connection with FIG. 9 and asshown in FIG. 13. The lever arm 236 which has held pawl 222 in inactiveposition is caused to drop (for reasons to be explained in the nextparagraph), thereby permitting pawl 222 to fall into the engagingposition of FIG. 13. Hence, it is not necessary to manually bring thepawl in operative position as was done in connection with the device ofFIGS. 1-9. As drum 204 is now restrained from clockwise rotation,further unwinding thereof cannot occur and attempts to pull rope 216outwardly will result in a desirable tightening of the same. Drum 204can be rotated in a counterclockwise direction for purposes of rewindingrope 216 thereon. Pawl 224 functions .in a manner similar to pawl 222,is pivotally secured to spacer 238 and is withheld from engagement withratchet side 240 of drum 212 by a releasable lever arm (not shown).

Releasable lever arm 236 as shown in FIG. 12 comprises an elongatedlower finger 242 pivotally secured as shown in FIG. 14 to end wall 226via rivet 244, the central stem 246 of which has a coil spring stub 248telescoped thereover which is held in compressed condition tofrictionally resist pivoting of lower finger 242 and its associatedupper finger 250 which is fixedly secured thereto. Finger 250 includesan offset tab 254 stamped therefrom and also includes a nose 256, withinclined edge 258. Pawl finger 228 rests against inclined edge 258 andglides thereover when the lever arm 236 is caused to fall to theposition of FIG. 13 and pawl 222 is thereby permitted to engage ratchet230 Normally lever arm 236 will remain in any position to which it isrotated because of spring 248. Hence it will tend to remain in theposition of FIG. 12. This position is also sustained by the interactionof a projection 260 from ratchet wheel 230 with the offset tab 254.Because projection 260 is an integral part of ratchet wheel 230, it willrotate with it as indicated in FIGS. 12 and 13. Because tab 254 opensupwardly and away from lever finger 250 as viewed in FIGS. 12 and 13,clockwise rotation of drum 204 (FIG. 12) with ratchet wheel 230 causesprojection 260 to ride against and over tab 254 and tend to force itupwardly thereby sustaining its position. When drum 204 is rotated inthe counterclockwise direction of FIG. 13, projection 26% abuts againstthe uppermost edge of tab 254. Continued rotation of ratchet wheel 230causes projection 260 to force lever 250 downward (counterclockwise) asviewed in FIG. 13 and thereby permit pawl 222 to descend downwardly asaforesaid. Lever 236 projects through opening 262 in the casing and maybe returned to the position of FIG. 12 by merely pushing it downwardlyas indicated by arrow 264.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A reel-type clothes drier comprising in combination a first pair ofrope storage drums secured to a first tubular shaft and a second pair ofrope storage drums secured to a second tubular shaft, said tubularshafts being axially aligned, said first and second drum pairs eachcomprising a drum of a relatively large diameter and a drum of arelatively small diameter, a central shaft rotatably and slidablymounted in the drier, and telescoped within said tubular shafts andbeing keyed to said first tubular shaft, and means for releasablyconnecting said central shaft to said second tubular shaft whereby saiddrum pairs may be simultaneously rotated and whereby said second tubularshaft may be disconnected from said central shaft so that said drumpairs may be independently rotated.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein a length of rope is associated witheach of said drum pairs, said length of rope including a first portion,a second portion and a portion intermediate said first and secondportions and adapted to be secured to a remote point to provide a pairof clothesline ropes, said first portion of rope being wound in onesense on said large diameter drum and said second portion of rope beingwound in a different sense on said small diameter drum whereby when saidfirst portions of rope are unwound from said large diameter drum,certain portions thereof not rewound on said small diameter drum willprovide additional rope for said intermediate rope portion and wherebywhen said second portion of rope is unwound from said small diameterdrum, said second portion as well as said intermediate portion will bewound on said large diameter drum.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein a guide bar is provided having apair of pulley wheels rotatively mounted thereon and wherein theintermediate portion of each of said ropes is associated with a pulleywheel and whereby said guide bar is adapted to be suspended atsubstantially the same level as said central shaft.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein one of the drums of one of said drumpairs is comprised of a ratchet wheel and wherein a pivotally mountedpawl is provided which may be associated with said ratchet wheel torestrain rotation of said central shaft.

5. The invention of claim 4 including a casing covering said drum pairsand wherein the pawl is held in disengaging position by a lever withinsaid casing which is adapted to be released when said drums are rotatedin a given direction thereby permitting said pawl to engage said ratchetwheel.

6. The clothes drier of claim 1 wherein said central shaft has a fingersecured thereto and is slidable within said tubular shafts, and saidsecond drum pair contains a side Wall adjacent said finger, said sidewall having at least one opening formed therein, whereby said finger maybe inserted in said opening by sliding said central shaft in said secondtubular shaft thereby providing the releasable securement.

Woitynek Jan. 5, 1909 Kneisiey Aug. 10, 1909 10 Van Riper Nov. 30, 1909Watkins Oct. 31, 1922 Benczalski June 5, 1923 Cohrs Oct. 28, 1924 WhiteFeb. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Denmark Apr. 4, 1949

1. A REEL-TYPE CLOTHES DRIER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FIRST PAIR OFROPE STORAGE DRUMS SECURED TO A FIRST TUBULAR SHAFT AND A SECOND PAIR OFROPE STORAGE DRUMS SECURED TO A SECOND TUBULAR SHAFT, SAID TUBULARSHAFTS BEING AXIALLY ALIGNED, SAID FIRST AND SECOND DRUM PAIRS EACHCOMPRISING A DRUM OF A RELATIVELY LARGE DIAMETER AND A DRUM OF ARELATIVELY SMALL DIAMETER, A CENTRAL SHAFT ROTATABLY AND SLIDABLYMOUNTED IN THE DRIER, AND TELESCOPED WITHIN SAID TUBULAR SHAFTS ANDBEING KEYED TO SAID FIRST TUBULAR SHAFT, AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLYCONNECTING SAID CENTRAL SHAFT TO SAID TUBULAR SHAFT WHEREBY SAID DRUMPAIRS MAY BE SIMULTANEOUSLY ROTATED AND WHEREBY SAID SECOND TUBULARSHAFT MAY BE DISCONNECTED FROM SAID CENTRAL SHAFT SO THAT SAID DRUMPAIRS MAY BE INDEPENDENTLY ROTATED.